I am a victim of a crime, I want to file a criminal case!The authority to file a case in criminal courts belongs to the Publicprosecutors. If you are a victim of a crime, upon your complaintto the public prosecutor, he will conduct an investigation and filea criminal case on behalf of the public if he deems necessary.

Which issues cannot be complained to the Public ProsecutionOffice?The complaints made to the Public Prosecution Offices shouldalways be related to a crime. Civil cases such as payment of rent,divorce or failure to pay a debt are not within the competency ofthe public prosecution office. For those issues, application shouldbe made to the civil courts. It may be useful if you consult to alawyer thereon.

How to lodge a complaint?A complaint is informing public prosecution office or lawenforcement agencies (police, gendarmerie) about the crimethat you have been exposed to, the name of the perpetrator/s,if you know, and explicit declaration of your request concerningthe punishment of the perpetrator/s. It will be useful to bring apetition describing the incident with you, but not compulsory.

What will happen if my complaint is not real?The incident that you have complained should occur or theperson you have complained should be the suspect of the saidcrime in reality, at least there should be reasonable justificationfor you to think in this way. In case you file a complaint onpurpose on an incident which has not happened, you may be putunder investigation due to creating “false charges” and in caseyou complain about someone who you know not have committeda crime, you may be put under investigation due to “libel”.

What should I do?Civil cases are filed and resume upon the will of the parties.However, criminal cases are initiated on a request made on behalfof the public and the public prosecutor is the party of the caseon behalf of the public. Therefore, procedures are simpler whencompared to that of civil cases. It is sufficient that one (you)notifies the crime to the authorized bodies. It is not likely that youare deprived of your rights because of the procedure as it is thecase in civil courts.

Can I Participate in the judicial process?Trial is conducted on behalf of the public in criminal cases.However, the state entitles you to a certain extent to participate inthe trial process with the prosecutor since you are the victim of acrime. If you file a complaint or participate in the case, then youare entitled to be involved in certain proceedings.

What is the Difference Between the Victim and the Complainant?Victim is the person whose rights have been violated bycommission of a crime. The requests of the victims from the stateto punish the perpetrators are called “complaint”. Every victim isnot always a complainant. Therefore, this distinction exists.

What Will Happen if I do not complain?Sentence of some petty crimes is based on the complaint of thevictim. However, complaint is not necessary in the punishmentof serious crimes. The perpetrator is sentenced even if the victimdoes not file a complaint. However, the victim who does notcomplain cannot benefit from some civil rights.

Is Complaint and Notice the same?Whenever a crime is committed, public order is distorted.Therefore the public empowers the public prosecution office toprosecute the crimes. Everyone may inform the law enforcementagencies or public prosecution offices about a committed crime.Complaint is a right granted to victims; however notice may befiled by everyone. Complainant may participate in the trial, but theowner of the notice has no right to do this.

What is Intervening to the Trial?When a public case is filed, complainant may intervene in thetrial and may be a party to the judicial proceedings. Interventionis a procedural transaction and it is conducted by declaringyour intention to the court. If the court approves the requestthen intervener becomes party to the judicial proceedings. Forinstance, the intervener may present a witness, ask questions towitnesses via court, and appeal against the decision. Interventiondoes not mean to be present at every hearing. It means to be aparty to the case in the procedural sense.

Is a lawyer necessary?Public officials deal with the necessary transactions on behalfof the victims or those affected by crime. If the victim or theperson affected by crime is a minor, deaf or mute, or mentallydisabled, an attorney will directly be appointed for them. It is alwaysadvantageous for you to represent yourself by a lawyer but it isnot compulsory. Victims of sexual crimes and of the crimes thathave a lower limit more than 5 years of imprisonment may ask fora free lawyer from the bar provided that they have an intervenerstatus in the case. When the victim or the person affected bycrime is a minor, deaf or mute, or mentally disabled and s/hecannot defend himself/herself, it is a legal obligation that theyare represented by a lawyer. In case they have no lawyer, thebar appoints one for them. Fee of these lawyers is paid by theone who loses the case or assumed by the state in case of anacquittal.

How can you enjoy your right to conciliation?The public prosecutor invites the perpetrator to public prosecutionoffice in cases where the law allows. He asks if the perpetratoraccepts the liability arising from the concerned crime. In casethe perpetrator accepts the crime as well as paying the wholeor important part of the material and moral loss arising fromthe concerned action or compensating the losses, you will benotified thereon. In case you accept with your free will that yourloss is compensated partially or completely and declare that youreconcile, there will be no further prosecution.

Every “document” which comes from the courts, public prosecutionoffice or civil enforcement offices is sent to inform you about anofficial process. The document which is sent by these authorities iscalled “notification”.

What should I do when a letter is sent by the courthouse?

When you read the letter carefully, you will see it contains all thenecessary information. If you think that the information in thedocument is complicated or incomprehensible, you can ask advicefrom a lawyer. If you take the notification and go to the courthouse,the Information Desk staff will help you as well. Keep in mind thatevery document sent by the courthouse is sent for an official purposeand most probably, it is a time limited document.

What is the notification for?

The notification is sent in order to inform you on a judicial process.The State informs you when your testimony or help is neededconcerning an issue which may be against or in favour of you andexpects you to protect your own rights or tell about your informationor experiences or submit your complaints. Do not forget that thenotification may be about any subject. The notification may be sentfor various reasons such as inviting you to the court as a witness,informing you that an enforcement (seizure) procedure has beeninitiated against you because of your unsettled debt or informing youon the date of a hearing and so on. The court or authority whichsends the notification or its purpose is indicated on the document.Please read it carefully.

How can I understand who sent the notification?

The name of the sender is written on the top left corner of thenotification. For instance, the 2nd Civil Enforcement Office ofIstanbul or Civil Court of First Instance of Ankara. Furthermore,there is a number indicating the type of action. This number is calledregistration number.

What is registration number?

The courts give a separate number for each file in order to carryout the proceedings in an organised way. This number is calledregistration number and abbreviated as “E”. There is a simple logicbehind this number. The first part of the number shows the year inwhich the case is filed and the second part indicates the sequencenumber of that case among all the cases filed in the same year. Itis indicated in this way: “E:2019/20” or “E:19/20”. Since each courtgives a separate number, the files are named with the name of thecourt. For instance, Assize Court of Istanbul E:2018/2020.

What should I do with the notification?

You must keep the notification. You will need the information on it.

I received the notification, what if I do not do anything?

There is a wide-spread misperception among the society that “judicialprocess does not start, if I don’t do anything although I receive thenotification”. Whatever you do, do not make the mistake of doingnothing after you receive the notification. When the notification findsyou, the judicial action starts. Keeping silent means you endangeryour own rights. In civil courts, when you do not respond to thelawsuit against you, it is supposed that you deny all the claims.However, when you do not follow the case, it means that you waivemany of your rights such as submitting evidence to the court andresponding to the evidences presented by the other party. In caseyou do not do anything after receiving notifications such as “paymentorders” from civil enforcement offices, it may result in variouslosses of rights.

What happens if I do not take any action?

Keep in mind that the State does not let the things be delayed. Eachaction has its own duration. The moment you receive the notification,the duration of that certain action starts. You may lose your right toobject, you may lose your rights, you may get into debt, you may beassumed that you accept the debt, even in some cases you may betaken by force by the police.

They left the notification to the neighbourhood governor, what if I donot receive it?

If you are not at home, an information paper is left to the door and thenotification is left at the office of the neighbourhood governor. Theday on which the notification is left to the neighbourhood governorshall be assumed as the date you receive it. Even if you do not receiveit physically, the legal process starts. All undesirable circumstanceswhich are mentioned above may happen to you.

They sent the notification to my previous address; I was not informedabout it!

In case of a change of address, it is your responsibility to declare thenew address to the relevant authority. If you do not declare your newaddress, the notification is sent to the address which is registered inthe Civil Registry Office. Therefore, you should always submit yourupdated address to the Civil Registry Office.Even if you have never resided in or moved from the addressregistered in the Civil Registry Office, the notification letter is givenby signature either to the head of district - a member of the districtcouncil or municipal police commander - officers. Furthermore, thedelivery address is written on the notification letter and this letter istaped on the door of the concerned address. The date on which thenotification is taped to the door is regarded as the notification date.In case you have no registered address in the Civil Registry Office,a copy of the notification is left to the door of the previous addressand that date is regarded as the notification date. After this date,notifications made to your previous address are deemed to be madeto the addressee.

A case is filed through a petition submitted to the court registry, what a petition should contain is stated below: a civil case is filed once you attached to your petition the receipt indicating that you paid the postal costs and the trial fee.

(*) Filing a case

Filing a case means to claim a right suing a person or an agency before a court. In case you have subjected to an unfair treatment the court shall intervene and deliver your right after they tried the case.

Filing a case is simple such as that ?

Yes, all it takes to file a civil case is to deliver the petition to the court registry with postal costs and legal fee receipt attached. Despite it seems too easy its a highly formal procedure entails severe legal consequences and huge financial burden.Remember. Despited the filing phase is simple as that. The entire process is extremely severe and sometimes could be time consuming.

How long an avarage case takes?

According to the statistics of the Justice Ministry. In 2007 it took 202 days to try a case, that changes from court to court. For instance, a case filed in Intellectual Property Civil Court has been tried in 619 days, that figure changes In the Commercial Court as 410 days, In labor Courts as 441 days, in Family Courts as 157 days, in Civil Courts of Peace as 108 days.

Is it better if I dont file a case?

It your constitutional right to apply to courts and seek justice. Do not refrain from exercising your rights. But in doing so it would be in your favor to you deeply assess before you launched thep process. the possible consequences in terms of winning and loosing and prospective financial consequences when you lost.

Where should I file the case?

You should file the case in the competent and assigned courts. Since the question as to which court is competent and assigned has no short cut answer and filing a case in an incompetent court would possibly result in time and money losts, you'd better consult to and advocate and ask for professional help.

What should I know before filing a case?

If you are not in a position to afford a lawyer ask your selves the questions below:•Are you sure you are informed well enough to file a case?•Are your determined as to pursuing your case? Ignoring the presence at the court once you filed a case results in the case being deemed unfiled.•Have assessed the negative consequences in case you loose the case? If you hired a lawyer you'd better ask him/her to inform you on that•How much the case would cost to you?•What is the avarage amount of the additional costs in case you loose (legal fee, trial costs, lawyer costs etc)•Is there any other way available to fix the unfairness you have been through.

The overall layout of a petition :

The petition is the key tool in a civil case. State your case touching the core issues. Writting longer than necessary, giving room to unnecessary detailes, mentioning irrelevant people could damage your case. Likewise a petition written way shorter than necessary and skipped the core aspects , would harm the case as well. Therefore the petition should be drafted in due diligence. Drafting your petition title by title, listing your evidences, putting your attachements in order would be in your favor.

What a formal petition should contain?

• Name• Surname• ID number• Plain address• Name and surname ID number ( if possible) of the defendant,• Title if its an agency• The subjectmatter of the case • The reason why you file the case• The claim• The legal grounds you based on• Evidences• The date of the incident has occured and the date you have found out.• Jurisprudences of the supreme court ( if possible) and samples of previously tried cases.

Is it compulsory to hire a lawyer?No, it is not. Remember an attorney would be of great help in the course of a litigation. In case you are not sure that , you are well informed in litigation and procedural law consult to a lawyer. If you are not in a position to afford a lawyer remember that you are entitled to a pro bono lawyer. To get that free legal aid. You need to apply to the bar association of your city, For more information please see. the legal aid brochure

How much cost to file a case , expensive or cheap?Yes, Filing a case could sometimes be expensive, legal fees are not so high in comparison to the fees in Europe. But still depending on the nature and the time to be invested. Expenditures could get higher than estimated. You should get ready to the unexpected expenditures and find out what the possible expenses are. In the course of the trial legal expenses are demandend from the claimant. In case you dont pay the legal fees court by law would find that you vaiwed your right to file a case and that would be harmful for your case.

Could I be reimbursed?If you win the case at the end the court would decide that the expenditures you made to be paid by your opponent. But remember only the court fees to be paid to you. The such expences as made in preparation to the case, transportation expenses and the the wage you paid to your council shall not be reimbursed.

Am I entitled to enforce my right directly?No, You need the judgment be finalised and the court fee decreed in the judgment must be paid and the judgment should be served to your opponent. The parties have right to appeal the decision. In case one of the parties appealed the decision. the decision shall become final after that stage is over.

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I'm Syrian citizen who lives on Kuwait, my fiance now is on Turkey and I want to get married ASAP.I want to know if I can get married in Turkish courts, because it's very important for me to get a certificate of marriage in order to be able to bring my wife with me to Kuwait.

According to the Turkish Nationality Act, to apply for Turkish citizenship, you should be at the age of consent according to your own national legal system. There are some exceptional ways of obtaining Turkish citizenship in which all conditions of acceptance to citizenship are essential except the five-year residence period and an indication of the will to remain in Turkey.

Turkish citizenship is not acquired upon marriage to a Turkish citizen. A foreign national who marries a Turkish citizen is eligible to apply for Turkish citizenship three years after the marriage contract is signed. You citizenship is permanent after that.

I am to discuss a new but very common term for employment all around the world. It is Compensation DOE. The term DOE means “Depending On Experience”, it is used for assessing the remuneration. So it is really essential to attach the DOE if one is looking for best job and Workers' Compensation according to this experience.